Luxembourg and Paris - 17th August 2020
Odysseus Partners, recognized for its innovative approach to venture capital investing, is evolving and today announced its rebranding as Mandalore Partners, with a new logo and identity that reflect its new team and positioning.
"We’re excited to announce that Odysseus Partners is rebranding as Mandalore Partners, an evolution that reflects our growth and aligns with our new team and positioning..." Minh Q. TRAN, Founder and Managing partner of Mandalore Partners.
"... As we have grown, our customer and investor base has internationalized. Our anchor investors have moved from French- to EU-focused, and our leads have moved beyond the EU to include the US and Asia.
This exciting internationalization has led us to evolve in our market positioning, from a VC firm to Innovation-as-a-service. Our focus on de-risking innovation venturing allows us to better serve our customers: innovative investments require innovative investors!"
As an asset builder for corporations and mid-sized companies, we de-risk strategic and financial investments by sourcing, investing, and partnering in innovative technology companies fitting our customers’ venture programs.
Our team has shifted alongside our approach, from our friends at Reech Corp, to a collaboration with Alchemy Crew, a digital transformation, venture validation and innovation ecosystem, whose CEO, Sabine VanderLinden, is joining us as Partner.
Odysseus took its name from Greek mythology; its investment method was tried and true. Mandalore is inspired by Star Wars, an inventive technology-driven universe that reflects the spirit of a new generation of investors. As we move from old to new, however, one thing stays the same: the importance of Partners in our brand. We’re alongside our customers from the ground up and know that relationships are key to innovation and growth.
Mandalore Partners is general partner of Insurtech Capital and also works with Proptech Capital and other Strategic Partner Vehicles (SPV).
About us:
Mandalore Partners, formerly Odysseus Partners, specializes in Innovation-as-a-service. As an asset builder for corporations and mid-sized companies, we de-risk strategic and financial investments by sourcing, investing, and partnering in innovative technology companies fitting our customers’ venture programs.
Video in English from #InsurtechRising in October 2017
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Google translation of Article in French from InFinance.lu during Insurtech Summit on October 2017
Former General Partner at AXA Strategic Ventures, Minh Q. Tran has embarked on the creation of a venture capital company, Insurtech Capital, with the aim to link up the (re) insurers with startups within strategic and financial objectives. We took advantage of his presence as a speaker at the Insurtech Summit to come back with him on this project and his vision of insurtech.
Can you tell us why you created Insurtech Capital?
I believe in disruptive technologies and in particular insurtech. This is an area that I appreciate because I do research trends. When I see trends merging, I know that I have detected something that will impact the field of insurance.Currently research shows that the main players in insurance were on their reserves for fear of being "uberized" by an external player, but all today understand the need for their companies to turn to innovation. Thus emerged a universe of partnership between insurers and startups. The integration of innovation and thus new technological tools should in the future be geared more towards the development of a prevention mechanism. What interests me from here is to convince insurers to get involved in the development of insurtech. In this context, what is important for me is to go to the insurers how to get involved effectively in the development of insurtech.It is with this idea that I created Insurtech Capital as a venture capital is the best way to bring something and because I believe @AXAVentures did not cover the entire industry as it meets the challenges of 'an insurer, hence the fact of having seized this opportunity. Insurtech Capital is therefore the fund dedicated to insurers and reinsurers wishing to improve their internal processes and to further integrate innovative technologies.
Are insurers difficult to convince?
In any case, I try to disassemble the importance of investing in this area, because this transformation is necessary or even inevitable. Many companies have been left behind by lack of anticipation, like Blackberry or Kodak, which shows the importance of being agile. How big are incubators of startups ready to grow in insurtech?These startups are very numerous. I launched the AXA Seed Factory project in 2012 and have since traded with more than 3,000 companies in Insurtech. I also developed a technology to list these startups, an indexing robot based on a big data model to find the right startup for the project.Insurtech Capital's current strategy is to find insurtech startups not only via conferences, but also via technology because only one physical person can not cover the entire world and all conferences. A robotic system can, by continually enriching you with data from around the world.
Compared to the fintech, how do you analyze the development trends of insuretch?
Compared to year zero, insurtech developments are similar but faster. The insurtech is an area certainly attracts many startups, but for established four reasons: a huge market in size, highly regulated, purely driven by technology and behind the digitalization compared to other industries. We also note that many fintechs are embarking on insurtech. The two domains are related but also stand out by singular themes. For example, fintech does not invest in health or damage as opposed to insurtech. Are there any prevention mechanisms that stand out?Prevention is currently facing health and compensation but it is a development stage area since insurers looking to change their image to no longer be a restitution society, but a proactive company to the customer. Are not you afraid that insurtechs, by incorporating technologies, will dehumanize the insurance industry?Technologies are not going to replace human input but help it. Individuals are increasingly connected people, with fast access to digital information. Therefore, insurers must respond to this new behavior by incorporating new technologies to better inform for better prevention.
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